When your customers need cutting tools, fittings or fasteners, who do they think of first? Is it you or is it your competitor? Hopefully the answer is you—but it may not be. Today, there are many options for your customers. What can you do to make your customer think of you first? The answer is simple: be first. Be first in everything you do, with your customer as the focal point in all your decisions. The basis for being in business is to make a profit. Customers yield profit, and customers for life yield long-term profit.

Today, everyone seems to have seven habits, ideas, goals or strategies to improve your life, your business, etc. My list is basic, but includes some often-overlooked ideas. So in keeping with the number seven, following are my 'Seven Plus One Customer Service Strategies for Building Customers for Life.'

A moment of truth occurs whenever there is a first-time interaction with your customer. This will happen every day, and many times a day. From the hello on the telephone or the greeting in the reception area to the delivery, these interactions have the potential to make or break companies.

Does your inside salesperson answer the telephone within three seconds, or on the second ring, with a smile? What about your outside salespeople? All salespeople should know that the first hello in the reception area is critical. With that first hello, you are announcing your company. How often do you slight this person because you are already in the sales 'zone'?

How well are your delivery people trained in delivery etiquette? Since they are generally the 'newest' or least paid and trained, we sometimes overlook their importance. From their attire and how they drive to where they park the delivery truck, your drivers play an important role in your image in the eyes of the customer—the very customer you are trying to build a lifetime relationship with.

Examine your 'moments of truth,' make every first-time interaction count, and start making customers for life today.

Customers expect all the updates on products and services. They expect all the updates on special offers. These simply keep you in business. Today's customer wants to be treated like they are more than a 'cash cow.' In other words, they want to know what separates you from the competition and why they should continue to do business with you. They want the unexpected, yet they may not know it. When they receive it, it makes all the difference in the world.

So, give them the unexpected. The unexpected could simply be a telephone call from the president of the company, a round of golf, a pizza delivered for lunch, or being asked to participate in company focus groups. Perhaps you could drop delivery charges once a month, or make a contribution in the name of the customer to their favorite charity.

This is all in the name of saying thanks for doing business with your company, and reminding your customer that you are extremely proud to be their partner. When was the last time you asked them, 'How are we doing, and what can we do better?' Remember, data is the driving force to improve customer service, so use it.

Here's a suggestion that can help you obtain a competitive advantage: Train your entire staff on 'active listening' communication skills. Active listening is a simple but powerful communication technique. Maintaining eye contact is critical. Minimal body language on the part of the listener is important. While we may want to speak, silence or minimal verbal responses are essential. Then, you simply paraphrase what you heard your customer say. For example: the customer says that he or she is having a hard time identifying metric fasteners from non-metric fasteners. You would respond by saying, 'I heard you say that you are having difficulty identifying fasteners. Is this correct?' What does active listening accomplish? It does the following:

• Communicates that you are concerned about what the customer is saying.
• Demonstrates that you understand their problems and issues.
• Provides a therapeutic process for the customer—people love to be listened to.
• Motivates the customer to talk more and more about their business issues.
• Leads to a better understanding of their needs and wants—for both you and the customer.

Active listening should be used during all of the communication encounters with your customers. Use this opportunity to communicate and gather information to drive your customer service.

We've all heard the phrase, 'The customer is always right.' I, like many of you, do not agree. What I do agree with is that he or she is always the customer. Building customer loyalty may at times force us to swallow our pride and do what needs to be done. We can always make the necessary policy changes after our customers have received their products and services.

What is important here is that the customers have been satisfied, and they feel they have been treated with respect and continue to be appreciated. How we communicate our customer service policy is important. However, what is more important is how your employees are trained to implement the policy.

I'm reminded of a Mark Paris cartoon that depicts a customer buying snacks. There's a sign next to the cashier that reads, 'The customer is always right,' and the customer is saying 'Gosh! I forgot my money! I'm such an idiot!' The cashier responds by saying, 'That's right you are!' Make wise customer-focused decisions and think before responding. You'll be glad you did.

Presidents and vice presidents, get out of your comfort zone and visit your customers with your eyes wide open. Leave your salesperson at home or call on other opportunities, and spend quality time with your customers. Really find out who they are and what they do. Learn about the challenges they're facing, and perhaps you can help find solutions that will improve their business while solidifying and taking your relationship to a new level. Start visiting today. And remember: start 'listening' rather than telling.

This concept is so simple you may wonder why it's even here. With everything you have to do on a daily basis, listening seems to be the one skill that we fail to use and are less likely to sharpen. Most customers want to be heard. How many orders were not filled correctly because someone wasn't listening? How many sales were lost by not listening? How many customers?

I recall a discussion I had with a student about buying a car. After doing the research, he and his dad went to the dealer ready to buy. They told the dealer the features the car had to have and that it had to be red. The salesperson said he had exactly the car they were looking for. He took them out on the lot and immediately showed them the make and model they were looking to buy—a real black beauty—and said, 'This is exactly what you are looking for.' Obviously, this salesperson still hung on to Henry Ford's credo, 'You can have any color car you want as long as it's black.'

The father and son looked at each other and walked away. If a customer wants red, then it's red. If you don't have it, tell them and let them make the decision. The important thing is that you listened to them, they know that you did, and they may be more likely to listen to alternatives or perhaps even buy the black one. Start listening today and enjoy the results.

This is perhaps the most difficult and challenging strategy—anticipating your customers' needs and addressing them before they ask. How do you go about it? The answer is simple: information. The more time you spend up front getting information about your customer, the easier it will be to anticipate their needs. In other words, do your homework.

Each customer should have a profile. This profile, at a minimum, should include: customer history; information specific to their business; their anniversary or start-up date (send out an annual acknowledgement); names of all employees and their job functions; their customers (optional); a clear understanding of what the customer does and how they do it; a list of what they buy and when they buy from you (buying history); and a list of what they use and buy from the competition.

If you have this information, you can anticipate customers' needs and contact them before they have to place an order. You can try to 'up sell' at the same time and begin to increase sales. We all know it's easier to sell more to your existing customers than to go out and find new customers. We have all had that feeling of silent service: when we turn around, our drink is there and the extras that you had not requested are brought to your table. Great waiters anticipate their customers' needs. Why can't great companies do the same? We all enjoy the feeling and are willing to pay for it. Start anticipating today and enjoy the results.

Great customer service is a lost art. When someone says, 'Hi,' to us as we walk in, we look around and wonder who they are talking to. Or if they smile at us, we get overly excited. And if they do both—say 'hi' and smile—we're ready to open our wallets.

We all know what great customer service looks and feels like, but it happens so infrequently that we are at a loss for words when we experience it. Part of the reason is that less than 10 percent of people take the time to complain. The other 90 percent complain to themselves, which usually goes something like this, 'I'll never do business with them again.'

That attitude does nothing to help companies improve. We need to take a pro-active approach. Supervisors, or anyone in authority, need to demonstrate, or 'model,' great customer service. You can't do it from the office or backroom, especially for those companies that have counter sales. Usually, the employees working the counter have some product knowledge and very little customer service experience. But they are the ones trusted to 'wow' the customer. In most cases, the supervisor is not anywhere around to evaluate the employee-customer interaction.

You need to get out of the back room and model great customer service on a daily basis. Of course there are challenging customers. That will never change. How you respond to them can and will change the way they do business with you. Start modeling great customer service today and watch how contagious it can become with your employees.

This one is so simple. Train and empower the person servicing the customer to take care of his or her needs. How often have you heard, 'My supervisor is out until next Monday, you'll have to come back then.' Probably too often. Properly training your employees and developing a list of concerns/problems that may arise, along with the appropriate solutions, can help improve your customer service. Can you include everything that may occur? Probably not, but in most cases the customer will be satisfied. Empower your employees to be great customer service providers and reward your stars.

Today, our customers are more educated, better informed, and smarter. So doing the expected is just that, expected. Dare to be different.

Two things that are very hard to sell are cemetery plots and life insurance. I recall an insurance salesperson that did the unexpected and made the sale of his career. After calling on a 'qualified' lead, he approached the home and rang the doorbell. After introducing himself and explaining why he was there, the homeowner replied, 'I'm not interested at this time, come back later.'

Most of us would have stormed off, jumped in our car, said a few things under our breath and put this experience out of our mind. This salesperson thanked him and the homeowner closed the door. But the salesperson was not done. He ran around to the back door and knocked. When the homeowner opened the door, and before he could say anything, the salesperson said, 'It's later and I'm back.' The homeowner was so overwhelmed by this approach, he purchased the policy that made the salesperson's career. He dared to be different. You can, too.